Climate change threatens WASH — Prof. Mariwah warns

Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) experts have raised concerns that interventions to improve WASH services in Ghana have largely concentrated on households, leaving facilities in markets, lorry stations, churches, mosques, schools and other public spaces inadequately studied and vulnerable to climate change.

Professor Simon Adinkrah-Mariwah of the Department of Geography and Regional Planning at the University of Cape Coast (UCC), who highlighted the concern, said sanitation and hygiene remained the neglected aspects of WASH, with the situation particularly worrying in institutions and public places.

Presenting on the topic “Climate-Resilient WASH in Institutions and Public Spaces in Ghana” at the ongoing MOLE XXXVII Conference, he noted that access to sanitation and hygiene continued to lag behind access to water. He warned that climate change also threatened the sustainability of existing facilities and services.

The conference, organised by the Coalition of NGOs in Water and Sanitation (CONIWAS), is taking place from November 1 to 6 at Big Ada in the Greater Accra Region under the theme “Accelerating Climate-Resilient WASH Service Delivery for Last-Mile Communities: Options, Strategies, and Actions.”

The Media Coalition Against Open Defecation (M-CODe), with support from World Vision Ghana, is providing a strategic communication platform to promote national visibility and public engagement around the conference.

In his presentation, Professor Adinkrah-Mariwah examined the meaning and implications of climate change, raising questions about temperature and rainfall variations and why they should be a concern.

He explained that climate change results from both natural and human-induced factors, with human activities intensifying hazards such as floods, droughts and fires. These developments, he said, also contribute to rising average temperatures and increasingly unpredictable weather patterns.

He called for a combination of mitigation measures, which address the causes of climate change, and adaptation strategies, both planned and spontaneous, to minimise its effects.

Applying the concept to WASH, he described climate vulnerability as the relationship between exposure and sensitivity, reduced by the capacity to adapt.

He explained that a community or facility exposed to frequent flooding, heavily dependent on a single water source or pit latrine, and lacking the resources to repair or adapt its facilities would be particularly vulnerable.

Professor Adinkrah-Mariwah identified different climate-related risks across Ghana. In the Northern and Savannah zones, drought, extreme heat, changing rainfall patterns and pressure on agro-pastoral livelihoods were among the major concerns.

In the Upper West and Upper East regions, water insecurity, vulnerable livelihoods and high sensitivity to climate impacts were highlighted. Along the forest transition and Agogo corridor, competition over land and natural resources, including farmer-herder conflicts, compounds climate-related pressures.

Coastal communities face erosion, flooding, displacement and livelihood losses, while flood-prone urban settlements are threatened by service disruptions and the vulnerability of informal livelihoods.

He clarified that the geographical assessment was intended to illustrate areas of concern and did not suggest that other parts of the country were free from climate-related risks.

He said the urgency of climate-resilient WASH had increased because climate hazards were interacting with weak maintenance systems, rapid urbanisation and unequal access to basic services.

“A functioning toilet today is not proof of a resilient sanitation service tomorrow,” Prof. Adinkrah-Mariwah warned.

He outlined how climate-related hazards could disrupt WASH services, explaining that flooding and drought could expose toilets and water points to damage or contamination, resulting in service failures and health risks.

“The risk chain can be interrupted through planning, design, maintenance, and preparedness,” he said.

Defining climate-resilient WASH as closely linked to sustainability, he said the concept involved ensuring that sanitation and water systems continued to function and deliver benefits over time, including during climate-related disasters.

Citing WaterAid (2011), he explained that resilience must cover the technical, environmental, economic and social dimensions of WASH systems, extending across the entire service chain, from containment to treatment and disposal.

The professor also questioned the limited attention given to WASH facilities in public spaces and institutions, particularly where regulatory responsibilities were fragmented or unclear.

He said the absence of adequate and functional facilities in many such locations raised concerns about who was responsible for their regulation and maintenance.

He further stressed the need to consider the different challenges faced by women and girls, persons with disabilities, children, older people and low-income users.

“A resilient toilet that a woman cannot use safely at night, that a person in a wheelchair cannot enter, that a child cannot use without fear, or that a poor trader cannot afford, is not resilient,” he said.

Professor Adinkrah-Mariwah called for stronger collaboration among government agencies, private businesses, faith-based organisations, traditional authorities and development partners, arguing that no single institution could independently deliver climate-resilient WASH services in public spaces.

He said such partnerships should prioritise climate-smart infrastructure, including raised and flood-resistant toilets, protected water points and functional drainage systems.

He also called for proper maintenance arrangements and sustainable funding for operations, rather than concentrating resources solely on construction. Clear ownership and regulatory responsibilities, alongside inclusive facilities that guarantee safety, dignity and accessibility, were equally important, he added.

He urged Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies, market managers, transport unions, churches and mosques to regard WASH in public spaces as a public health priority rather than an issue to be addressed as an afterthought.

For last-mile communities and public spaces, he said, climate-resilient WASH was not a luxury but a necessity for protecting health, dignity, equity and survival.

Participants at the session said the presentation had drawn attention to a major gap in Ghana's WASH agenda, where household coverage often dominates policy discussions and statistics despite the large number of people who spend their days in markets, lorry stations and places of worship.

They noted that the failure of WASH facilities in these public spaces could expose users to disease, undermine their dignity and disrupt livelihoods, particularly during floods and droughts.

The session ended with a call for Ghana to move beyond the construction of toilets towards developing resilient WASH systems that can withstand floods, remain functional during droughts, receive regular maintenance, remain affordable and accessible to all, and operate under effective regulatory arrangements.